City of Basketball Love

By Sean McBryan (@SeanMcBryan)
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Antonio Lewis knew what awaited him entering his senior season with Downingtown West. Seniors are frequently expected to take an increased role in leadership; Lewis’ situation was unique.

“It’s going well so far,” Lewis said. “I need to step up in a big way because Dylan was a major contributor to our team. I play a big part as a point guard and I have to lead our team to wins and the playoffs.”

The Whippets’ opener Dec. 1 was the date the keys to the program were officially passed down from Downingtown all-time leading scorer Dylan Blair to Lewis, the new starting point guard.

“The hardest part is facing the adversity of handling the pressure,” Lewis said. “It’s hard handling the pressure full bore all the time. I gotta be in condition and shape and just go play my game.”

Lewis handled the pressure and put his own mark on Downingtown West’s gritty 56-52 victory over Cedar Crest Saturday evening at the CoBL Winter Showcase at Exeter High School.

The 5-10 senior had nine points, four rebounds, four assists, and four steals while hitting clutch free throws down the stretch to seal the victory for the Whippets (3-2), who clawed back after getting punched in the mouth early.

The Falcons (2-2) led by 3 after the first quarter and extended that to 19-10 with 3:58 left before halftime. 

Junior Donovan Fromhartz, who finished with 26 points, and Lewis started to attack the rest of the quarter and the Whippets went on a 14-2 run to take a three-point lead into the half.

“We build off each other's energy,” Lewis said. “And we have a lot of energy. I feel like we can compete with any team in the gym if we have that high energy. We just kept our minds controlled, made some shots, and played defense.”

The Whippets led by six at the end of the third quarter and then withstood an end-of-game push by their Lancaster-Lebanon League opponent. Cedar Crest 6-7 forward RJ Young’s hook shot in the lane cut West’s lead to 48-47 before Lewis and Fromhartz calmly stepped to the line and started knocking in clutch free throws. 

But Cedar Crest’s second behemoth in 6-6 forward Aiden Schomp drilled a 3 that made it 54-52 with 3.4 seconds left. A violation by West appeared to occur on the ensuing inbound pass, but head coach Stu Ross called a timeout before and the refs correctly made the call.

It ended in a bounce-back win for the Whippets after falling by 10 to Lower Merion Friday. They’ve also beaten Wissahickon and Rustin and lost to La Salle in the opener when Lewis assumed his new responsibility.

“He’s done a good job,” Ross said. “He’s growing and learning each and every game. He obviously learned a lot playing behind Dylan Blair. The role is just different now and he’s moving over one seat. We’re trying to learn how to play with tempo and pace and have him pick his spots in the game while understanding he can also change the game defensively.”

Playoffs became the standard at West under Blair’s guidance; the Whippets won the Ches-Mont title, went to the District 1 Class 6A semifinals, and won the first state playoff game in school history last season. 

Blair and Fromhartz deservingly received much of the attention — both received all-state honors —  during that run while Lewis settled into a key bench role in his first season getting varsity minutes. He learned from watching during games and competing in practice against one of the best players in the state. He performed on the court when his number was called.

“The biggest thing I took from [Blair] was his leadership,” Lewis said. “That was a big part of our team’s success and he conducted our team very well.”

Lewis knows the new standard because he was a part of creating it. Championships and playoff runs don’t happen without key bench pieces. Now as the lead guard, Lewis isn’t planning on those goals to change.

“It’s a big step going from the bench to starting,” Lewis said. “We want to win another championship. We have the talent to do it. We have the keys to do it. We just need to put our minds together and do it.”

By Quarter
Downingtown West:  8  |  16 |  14  |  18  ||  56
Cedar Crest:   11   |  10  |  11  |  20  ||  52

Scoring
Downingtown West: Fromhartz 26, Staz 12, Lewis 9, Moore 4, Coupe 2, Hickens 2, Lasher 1.

Cedar Crest: Marquez 14, Young 13, Schomp 10, Tirado 7, Custer 3, Groff 3, Speaks 2.